Adah Rose Gallery

Adah Rose Gallery showcases the work of contemporary artists of all medium. We feature duo shows in changing exhibits monthly. We also offer Salons, Zines, Music, Literary events and a lively place to come and talk about and create art. We will be posting event dates, artist bios, musings on the contemporary art world and fabulous places in DC to explore art. We are Francophiles and will be posting about the best places to visit in Paris.

The Savory Details

Yesterday I wrote about Susan Stacks’ carefully executed graphite spheres. At last night’s opening, “Haunted by Ill Angels”, the meticulous workmanship and skillful upholstery of Zade Ramsey’s creations were not lost to anyone. In general, Ramsey’s process entails sourcing friends and flea markets for antique mementos, constructing wooden mounts into awesome shapes (“Texas” features an upholstered outline of the state), painting, and upholstering. Each piece is covered in different, and sometimes multiple, patterned fabrics. The fabric selection ranges from kitsch to exotic: My favorite piece, “Spirited Away”, features a tactile faux crocodile. 

No part of Zade Ramsey’s pieces are forgotten. I flipped around one of his smaller pieces and not only was the back covered in fabric, but the artist had signed his name on a piece of wood and attached the wood to the back. After this charming discovery I turned over several more pieces, eager to find what savory details awaited discovery.

In the same way that Susan Stacks transformed mere graphite Zade Ramsey reinvigorates what others have disregarded. For example, porcelain figurines that had expired usefulness now wonderfully adorn pieces in homage to Japan (“Old Japan”). Although the process and end product very much differ, both demonstrate creative and purposeful execution in their art.

Nadia Sesay, Intern, GWU graduate, class of 2009

Callous of Compromise, Part Deux

Susan Stacks was featured in the gallery’s February exhibit, “The Pleasures Here are Well Known.” This series was inspired by pop cultural references including the vulnerabilities of super heroes. The spherical pencil drawings were mostly enclosed and densely patterned - a representation of the superhero’s burden: the balance between normalcy and secrecy, yet possessing uncommon valor.

Susan has created a new series of similar geometry, but feature more gold than pencil. The gold lustre perhaps is a badge of victory (X-Men defeat Magneto!). The shapes are open starbursts rather than closed loops (X-Men have become socially accepted). 

Or the added character of this series could just be aesthetic changes the artist wanted to explore. Regardless of intent the meticulous details are present and apparent. As Susan remarks on her creative process, “…[it] is executed with the commitment of a surgery.”

Nadia Sesay, Intern, GWU graduate, class of 2009

Elephant Execution

Zade Ramsey’s piece, titled Elephant Execution, pays homage to to the tragic death of Mary in 1916. An elephant sentenced to circus performances, she was violently hanged after killing a circus worker in 1916. In this piece, Zade ironically and chillingly combines photographs of smiling individuals with grave depictions of death. By creating this paradox, he comments not only on the situation itself, but also on the relationship between man and animal. The piece, so carefully constructed, contains such a degree of care and devotion; this dedication provides yet another layer of paradox. 

By Kate Conrad, Carleton ‘11

Here Comes the Bride

Trix Kuijper, as any proper surrealists, deals with themes of sex and death. “The Bride” is at the same time dream vision, allegory, feminine portrait, and apocalyptic landscape. Her gauzy cloth, either a gown or a veil, wraps around her but covers nothing. It evokes a mummy as much as a bride. Her head has become an eerie blossom. Her climate is at once hot and cold, her sky dreamy, her landscape desolate. Bridging land and sky is a trail, though whether the bride is ascending or descending is unclear. Is she embarking on a honeymoon? Or a journey to heaven? In this place desire and fear are evoked by a bride who is at once erotic and morbid.

Alexander Schneider, GWU 2012

Embers

“An Inside Job,” a work by Lori Anne Boocks, captures a kind of visceral energy that manages to fully immerse the viewer in a warm ambience. Though the painting is fully abstract and non-representational, as I stare at it on a sticky hotafternoon, an image of a smoldering furnace comes forward and engulfs me with heat on all sides. Boocks’ palette of slate greys, brown, orange and red evoke glowing embers of coal with a burst of subdued flame. The portrayal of warmth and energy through color is reminiscent of Rothko’s color field art and has a similar effect on the viewer. Nevertheless, the work retains an individual flair and originality that makes the painting novel. 

Lyuba Shamailova, NYU 2012

Artistry & Economics

This week President Obama hosted the G8 summit at Camp David. This forum discussed, among other things, the state of the global economy. Having an International Business degree, I am naturally interested in this topic. So when browsing the gallery for today’s blog post, it is not surprising that this untitled piece by Aniekan Udofia (signed only “Aniekan”) struck out to me. 

The homage to currency is clear. A single dollar crowns the painting, its placement not only emphasizing the role of the US in the global economy, but that a single note overpowers 2,000 Naira (four 500 notes). Aniekan’s thoughtfully executed message reverberates in the smallest details: the deal-sealing handshake hidden from the view of the main figure; the barbed wire that creeps across the lower portion of the painting; and the red arrow that points directly at the figure’s heart. 

Nadia Sesay, Intern, GWU graduate, class of 2009

Sacrificial Lamb

   Without having known the title of this piece I thought: Sacrificial Lamb, coincidentally, that was also the title of this Dana Ellyn piece that hangs on the farthest wall of our gallery. The piece is incredibly visceral, but is also masked by this very vivid painterly Toulouse-Lautrec style. If, we envision Toulouse-Lautrec at the Moulin Rouge there is a performance quality  to this piece. I feel as if we are looking through the other side of a backstage mirror where our passover sacrifice performer is contemplating the fate of her actions. When she pulls back the curtain will the crowd coax her to follow through or will she crumble as her eyes well up into the tears that are building? She is the sacrifice more then the lamb is because although Lautrec painted the happy faces, I believe there has always been a veiled life when living out on the extremities of the world.

-Elizabeth Hay, GWU Graduate 2012

Dana Ellyn, Sacrificial Lamb

Little Red

What starts as an innocent trip to grandma’s house leads to the literal shed of innocence, as captured by Dana Ellyn in “Corruption (“Rake’s Progress”)”. Little Red woefully stares at her beloved teddy, whose black eyes watch over the kidnapping without expression. No big bad wolf here; Red is attacked by what else, birds.

Although the scale of this painting is visually manageable (only 18” x 24”), it is not intended to be consumed at once. The breakup of sequences ranges from (Scene 1) perky poppies, modest clothing, and lively trees to (Scene 2) naked trees emphasized by transparency of Little Red’s dress to reveal her (training)bra and knickers.

Nadia Sesay, GWU graduate, class of 2009

A Semester in Barcelona


“As my semester abroad in Europe comes to a close and as I reflect on all the amazing opportunities and art that I have had the pleasure of experiencing these past months, one thing comes to mind.  That is that in Europe, art is everywhere.  Art has taken a leap beyond the galleries and museums, of which there are many in Europe, and into the street.  Not only here in Barcelona, but in many of Europe’s dense cities, store doors are covered in “street art” graffiti tags.  But the architecture of these rows of buildings in many of these cities is simply breathtaking as well.  The amazing architecture of Barcelona extends far past the accomplishments of Gaudi, unlike many tourist books would have one believe.  The old churches, as well as the new office buildings being constructed every day all bear a mark of craftsman ship and are displays of artistic accomplishments in themselves.  What is amazing about the art of Europe is not the art itself, but the ability to discover amazing art around every city corner.  Though the Louvre in France, El Prado in Madrid, the National Art gallery of Berlin are all simply full of amazing works by artists new and old, the pop up galleries that continue to flourish around many of Europe’s great cities proves that the beauty of Europe extends far past the museum walls.”
Michael Pinto
George Washington University ‘13

The American Vernacular*

Take a deep breath and slowly exhale. Let the fresh air consume you. Listen to the lone ‘69 Chevy pickup rumble down the two-lane road dotted with aged “Route” signs. Take in another breath and recall classic Americana.

Photographer D.B. Stovall brings to life a classic scene through both literal and stylistic means: subject matter and the intensity of color. This little image of perfection has all the elements of many a small town - the barbershop, stop sign (no traffic lights, of course), and the omnipresent local church.

The limited palette of primary colors underscores the simplicity of life of this American past. The image is so pure that the even tiny details like rust on the sign revels in the enjoyment of attention of the viewer.

The text “Rebmans” flashed quickly reads like “Rememb…”. Taken in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this image is real, but yet so easily reminisced.

*The photographer has titled a group of similar images “The American Vernacular”

Nadia Sesay, Intern, GWU graduate, class of 2009